Compliance Agreements

COMMISSIONER OF CANADA ELECTIONS

CANADA ELECTIONS ACT

Compliance agreement

This notice is published by the Commissioner of Canada Elections, pursuant to section 521 of the Canada Elections Act, S.C. 2000, c. 9, as amended.

On March 4, 2008, the Commissioner of Canada Elections entered into a compliance agreement with Mr. John Gagnon, Official Agent, (hereinafter referred to as the Contracting Party) of the City of Bathurst, New Brunswick, pursuant to section 517 of the Canada Elections Act.

In this agreement, the Contracting Party, admits to actions that constitute an offence under paragraph 463(1)(b) of the Canada Elections Act, as he failed to provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a complete electoral campaign return for the 2006 federal general election in omitting to declare signs from the 2004 election campaign used in the 2006 election period and a promotional telephone campaign. The total of these additional election expenses was in the amount of $2,356.51.

Prior to the conclusion of the agreement, the Commissioner of Canada Elections took into account that the Contracting Party had co-operated with the investigation, had admitted responsibility for the acts that constitute the offence, had agreed to amend the 2006 electoral campaign return at the first opportunity, had admitted the commercial value of the additional election expenses and that the additional election expenses did not result in spending over the limit established by law for the electoral district, and had undertaken to comply with the provisions of the Act in the future.

In summary, the compliance agreement required the Contracting Party to:

• acknowledge the legal requirement to provide the Chief Electoral Officer with a complete electoral campaign return;
• admit to the truthfulness of the facts and his responsibility for the acts that constitute the offence;
• accept the commercial value of the additional election expenses determined by the Commissioner;
• amend the 2006 electoral campaign return accordingly and at the first opportunity; and
• undertake to observe the requirements of the Act and to henceforth respect them.

March 27, 2008

William H. Corbett
Commissioner of Canada Elections